Brandon Rios Says Fight With Alvarado Will Be Like Gatti-Ward

Rios had bigtime issues making 135 his last few bouts, but fight fans are hoping the move to 140 will let the aggressive hitter concentrate on fighting more so than making weight. (Chris Farina)

The expectations are exceedingly high for the Oct. 13 Brandon Rios-Mike Alvarado fight, so the contrarian in me says, Look out, you might want to dial back your optimism.

People are tagging it as a top candidate for Fight of the Year, noting that the aggressive nature of both men is quite likely to produce a war of attrition, a high-volume rumble where blood will spill, neither man will give an inch without a vehement violent protest, and the fans will get more than their money's worth.

"Even before a punch is thrown, people are touting it as a fight of the year," promoter Bob Arum said in a Thursday conference call to hype this scrap, which is the top support bout to the night's headliner, Nonito Donaire-Toshiaki Nishioka. The two bouts will run on HBO.

And while I play the voice of reason, and remind that when our hopes rise to high, the likelihood that we get disappointed rises, the fighters didn't really do much to lessen the buzz factor for their faceoff.

The Coloradan Alvarado got on the line first. It's been a bumpy road to get to this place of opportunity, as the man has had run ins with the law, and spent time locked up and in mandatory boot camp as punishment. But it appears those chapters, which included a domestic charge and driving infractions, are in his rear-view mirror.

The 33-0 fighter with 23 KOs tried to convince the media that he isn't simply a crude brawler, that he brings a varied arsenal to the table. "My boxing is definitely underrated. I am not just a slugger, I can also box 'til the end. I have learned a lot about myself in that ring. The fight (against Prescott) never took a toll on me. It was a good war with Prescott and has only made me that much stronger. I have the skills and I am ready to do this." He referenced his second to last last bout, against Breidis Prescott, last November. After giving rounds to Prescott, he roared to life, and scored a TKO10 win. Later, he made an admission: "In my heart I know this fight is going to go toe-to-toe."

The 32-year-old Alvarado, who is more than happy to trade in a fight, kept it classy when asked about Rios' scale issues, which threaten to define him if he can't get it right this time. "I am thinking in my mind that Brandon is training the best that he can," Alvarado said. "He hasn’t made weight in his past couple fights but now he is moving up in weight and fighting somebody bigger and stronger. I am sure his nutrition is good and he is having a great camp. That makes me more humble and more focused to be ready."

I am assuming the jump from 135 to 140 will remove all the scale-fail drama from Rios' life.

The 26-year-old Californian Rios sounds ready to put the scale issues behind him. "I am ready to show the world and everybody what I can do at 140 now," he said. "135 was good for me but now I am ready for 140." His last outing was so-so, as many folks thought he got a gift decision against Richard Abril in April.

Rios (30-0-1 with 21 KOs) was asked about how the two styles match up. "He likes to come forward and I like to come forward. I don’t like to play a chess game. I like to go in and handle business and he likes to do that too. It’s going to be one helluva fight. The fans are going to love it and I’m going to come out victorious in this one."

Could it be the fight of the year? "I don’t really focus on that stuff," he said. "If it happens, it happens." Then, he stated, "It is going to be one of those fights that is like a Gatti-Ward." As the call progressed, Rios seemed to get more and more amped, as he envisioned a vicious rumble. "The fight I see is we both come forward and I strike him and it is a bloody massacre of a fight," he said. "It’s going to be one of those fights that people are going to be on their feet the whole time. I told trainer Robert Garcia since I started boxing I have been waiting for that type of fight and I hope this is that fight."

This tussle and the rest of the card unfolds at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Both fights will be televised on HBO®, beginning at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast.)

Readers, who do you like to prevail in this possible "bloody massacre" of a square-off?

I think TSS should hook a reader up with press passes for this event. I'll bring the news back to the brethren with a nice Cali twist. Wilmas in the houssssse!

deepwater says:

less talk. more fight. gatti ward can not be replaced. these two will have to go to hell and back to be even close to gatti ward. tss should have a campaign to get cutman al Gavin in the hall.

ultimoshogun says:

I missed Rios' last fight that he got a gift decision in, but his fight with Antillon was fireworks from start to finish. Hope this one delivers the same.

Radam G says:

Not even close will this bout be like Gatti-Ward. They were "fighting fools" -- a complement of old-school fighters. Now Rios is close, but the high-attitude guy Alvarado is not. That is why he is telling the media that his "boxing is definitely underrated." Sound like the dude is pretexting to do a bit of bambi-bytch fighting. I'll bet da muthasucka has been smokin' pot. Hehehehe!

He has a lot of barking dog in him, not fighting fool. Rios is gonna take him to whup-@ss school. Two supersonic trains coming forward will cause one heckuva crash. The survivor of that crash, I predict, will be Bam Bam! In the pants, Alvarado is a flash. Holla!

brownsugar says:

If anybody could deliver on such a monumental promise it would be Rios vs Alvarez. In fact, any combination of Rios,Gatti,Alvarez, or Ward would have produced lasting memories.

ali says:

This fight will be more like Castillo vs Corrales with i think was a a little bit better then Ward Gatti. Im pretty sure this will be FOTY they both fight the same way, straight forward with they guard up and no head movement. Instant classic!

Radam G says:

That is the problem. They fight the same way. Classic fights come when pugilists have different styles not similar ones.

The late, great Gatti and Ward fought the same gutty in different styles. Ward was a slugger. Gatti was a banger-fighter. These high-hoping fans and fanfaronades are going to be disappointed and shock by this bout.

They keep forgetting that boxing is "the threatre of the unexpected." Holla!

deepwater says:

i expect a sloppy fight with headbutts and holding.

ali says:

Deepwater u also said Ward vs Dawson was going to be a boring fight and it was far from it. Radam Ward and Gatti are basically the same fighters knock it off

ali says:

Anglo vs Kirkland same fighters great fight. Im not saying different styles can't make great fight cuz they can but when u have two guys who fight only one way and that's moving forward 9 times out of ten its going to be a great fight.

deepwater says:

Thank God for andre ward for getting in there and doing some work. I thought really bad chad was going to try and stink out the fight and I was right. Really bad chad did try to stink out the fight. I called for the ward win and Im glad he overcame the lt heavyweight champ that quit and said he had enough. I predict alot of holding and headbutts in this fight, i bet it happens and I hope it rises above that and gets into a great fight.

deepwater says:

this is post I made b4 ward dawson=" ward wins. ward has the chip on his shoulder and finds away to win. bad chad doesnt got the killer instict but can box and keep fight at distance. easy $ on ward. " I never said ward was boring just really bad chad.

Radam G says:

Dang, SCLA Ali, you either don't have a seeing for different styles, or you are just trying to be an A-hole again. Ward was a come-straight-ahead slugger. Gatti is a-move-this-and-that-way banger fighter.

Quit it, SCLA Ali. You ain't dat blind or dumb. You have a chip on your shoulder to be right even when you are dead wrong. I know the type.

The Mandingo Warrior and El Perro are indeed the similar type of sluggers. And they had a good fight, not a classic one. Ali-Frazier, Robinson-LaMotta, Walcott-Marciano, Leonard-Hearns, Hagler-Hearns, Taylor-Chavez, Gatti-Ward were classic fights.

Again, fighters with the same mimicking style are not historically known to have classic bouts. Holla!

ali says:

Foreman vs Lyle

ali says:

Deepwater Chad came to fight he was just out gun by a better fighter but u did say easy bread on Ward

There were two forms of [Rev.] "Big" George Foreman. The young one was a wild-swinging, oversized, Frankenstein-like SLUGGER with a good left jab and a murderous right hand thrown anyway that he liked. This is the Rev. "Big" GF who FOUGHT and KAYOED Ron Lyle in that classic war. Ron L was a turtle-slow-arse boxer puncher with murderous POWER. [Once again, two fighters with distinct different styles of whup @ss.]

The old, happy-go-lucky Rev. "Big" GF was a slow, flat-footed boxing cat with one of the best jabs of all times and one of the best right-crosses of all times. Either Rev. would have fudged up the late, good, Ron Lyle in my humble opinion.

Doggit, SCLA Ali! You shoulda been in da game. You have the determination and hard-arse head of a fighter, no DOUBT! I give you that. But you need to check yo'self and not wreck yo'self by peckin' and pokin' at da one and only Radam G's grill. I know what time it BE! I gotta go peepee! Hehehehehe! Holla!

Carmine Cas says:

Brandon Rios sucks and is overrated, I hope Alvarado knocks him out

Radam G says:

Hope is like smoke. Ending up, it will make you choke. Holla!

ali says:

Radam key word I used was basically, do u know what basically means? Sugar ray Lenard and Terry Norris basically fought the same way. Gary Russell jr and Meldrick Taylor, Broner & Mayweather but no two fighters fight exactly the same way come on Radam r u just trying to give me a hard time? ,

Radam G says:

Basic is probably the most misused word in the English language. And it is not an original English one. There are different types of styles, period! Sugar Ray Leonard was a boxer who could also slug. Terry Norris was a fighter who could also box. Basically connects with the fight between them, not being syet because they were boxing one another, not slugging against a fighting dude. Two cats fighting against one another in the same style neurallize one another. This is why slugging Leonard against boxing Hearns became a classic. But in fight II boxing Hearns against boxing Leonard was not a classic.